After wrangling for most of the day, House Speaker John Boehner is ready to move ahead with a vote on the U.S. Senate-passed Fiscal Cliff Deal in the House of Representatives tonight, without any amendments being offered:

THE HILL:The House Rules Committee sent the Senate-passed “fiscal cliff” bill to the floor late Tuesday with a vote in the full chamber to take place around 10:30pm to 11pm.

After a day of lengthy internal GOP wrangling over whether to amend the Senate-approved bill, House GOP leaders decided that they did not have enough support to pass an amendment with Republican votes alone.

The move came after a pair of long closed-door Republican conference meetings, and is a signal that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) believes there are enough votes to pass the Senate measure without changes. . . . Read More

The U.S. House of Representatives will vote today on Speaker John Boehner’s “Plan B,” which would extend current tax rates for most Americans, but would raise tax rates on people earning over $1 Million. Boehner’s decision to cave on raising tax rates is not setting well with a lot of Republicans, who know this will only further depress business activity:

CNN: The House is set to vote Thursday on Plan B, a GOP version of an agreement on the fiscal cliff, and another measure designed to lure support for the plan from hard-line Republicans.

The White House threatened Wednesday to veto that plan, saying it would bring only “minimal” changes in projected budget deficits.

Lawmakers face a deadline to avoid falling off what’s being called the fiscal cliff — the specter of huge tax increases and deep spending cuts set to kick in in January if no budget agreement is reached by December 31.

The negotiations had focused on a $2 trillion package of new revenue, spending cuts and entitlement changes the two sides have shaped into a broad deficit reduction plan.
The stakes are high as economists say that failure to reach an agreement could spark another recession.

House Speaker John Boehner has proposed Plan B, which would extend Bush-era tax cuts on income of up to $1 million. He described it as a fallback option to prevent a sweeping tax hike while negotiations continue on a broader plan.

GOP leaders also had planned to vote Thursday on President Barack Obama’s long-standing proposal to return to the higher tax rates of the 1990s on income above $250,000 for families.

But Republicans decided to drop their plan to vote on extending tax breaks on incomes over $250,000. One GOP aide said that since the president has moved the threshold to $400,000, there is no point to that exercise.

Because they are having trouble securing votes from conservatives for Boehner’s Plan B, GOP leaders have added a vote Thursday on a measure that would replace automatic spending cuts to defense with cuts elsewhere. . . . Read More

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a GOP Bill tonight extending the Payroll Tax Cut through 2012 on a 234-193 vote. The bill also requires construction of the Keystone XL Oil Pipeline from Canada to Texas – something President Obama says he will veto.

MSNBC: Defiant Republicans pushed legislation through the House Tuesday night that would keep alive Social Security payroll tax cuts for some 160 million Americans at President Barack Obama’s request — but also would require construction of a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline that has sparked a White House veto threat.

Passage, on a largely party-line vote of 234-193, sent the measure toward its certain demise in the Democratic-controlled Senate, triggering the final partisan showdown of a remarkably quarrelsome year of divided government.

The legislation “extends the payroll tax relief, extends and reforms unemployment insurance and protects Social Security — without job-killing tax hikes,” Republican House Speaker John Boehner declared after the measure had cleared.

Referring to the controversy over the Keystone XL pipeline, he added, “Our bill includes sensible, bipartisan measures to help the private sector create jobs.” . . . Read More

Here is video of the U.S. House of Representatives passing the Debt Limit Agreement today by a 269-161 margin. As the final votes were being cast, spontaneous applause began to echo through the House Chamber as members realized Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords had entered to cast her vote. Giffords was casting her first vote on the floor since being shot by an assailant in January. The Debt Limit Agreement now moves to the U.S. Senate for a vote tomorrow, August 2, 2011, at 12 Noon ET.

C-SPAN: The Republican-controlled U.S. House has approved a plan for raising the debt ceiling through the end of 2012. The vote was 269 to 161. 66 Republicans voted against the proposal, so Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) was unable to bring enough of his conference along and needed the 95 Democratic votes in support of the bill.

The Senate will vote on the bill at noon ET on Tuesday and Senators have agreed that it will take 60 votes to pass.

The measure would raise the debt ceiling in several steps lasting until 2013 and would reduce the federal budget deficit by about $2.1 trillion over a 10-year period. The plan calls for a special joint committee that would be tasked with recommending where about $1.2 trillion of that deficit reduction should come from- in spending cuts or revenue. Those recommendations would then have to be voted on by the full House and Senate under special rules. If the joint committee or Congress fail to act, the bill calls for automatic across-the-board cuts.

The plan also requires the House and Senate to vote on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, which would require a 2/3 majority in both. . . . . Read More

The U.S. Senate will go first on the Debt Limit Deal agreed to by President Obama and Leaders of Congress. CNN is reporting that the Senate will likely vote on the deal this afternoon, and if it passes, the U.S. House will take it up tonight:

CNN: The Senate plans a first vote on the deal on Monday afternoon, a Senate Democratic leadership aide told CNN. If the measure passes an expected Republican filibuster attempt, the House could vote on it Monday night, the aide said.

White House officials told CNN that congressional leaders worked hard to reach a deal, but declined to say whether they had been given assurances that the leaders had the votes to deliver its passage. . . . Read More

Here is video of the U.S. House announcing the Harry Reid Debt Limit Plan was rejected by a vote of 173-246. The vote required a 2/3 Majority of the House to suspend the rules and call the bill up to the floor for consideration. It only got 173 votes – not a majority, much less a 2/3 majority. The House has adjourned for the day and will return tomorrow, though no votes are expected tomorrow.

The video above is of House Speaker John Boehner speaking just before the vote on his Debt Limit Bill.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the revamped “Boehner Bill” late this afternoon. The vote was 218-210, with 22 Republicans voting against the bill. The bill will now move to the U.S. Senate.

DAILY CALLER: After a wild and bumpy ride, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed Speaker of the House John Boehner’s Budget Control Act Friday evening. The vote fell along party lines at 218-210, with 22 Republicans voting against the bill.

The House passage comes after many hours of arm-twisting and negotiating to get enough of the GOP freshmen class to promise a “yes” vote. At several points, the plan was on clear life support, with little chance of surviving. . . .

But it wasn’t without significant tweaks to Boehner’s plan. The speaker added a provision Friday morning that made a second tranche of money to raise the debt ceiling in six months from the passage of a balanced budget amendment.

Yet however much of a victory this is for the House GOP, the Budget Control Act is likely doomed. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has publicly said the bill will fail in the upper chamber. And today, President Barack Obama essentially said getting the bill to pass in the House had been a waste of time. . . Read More

Jennifer Rubin at The Washington Post is reporting that House Speaker John Boehner was somewhere between 5-20 votes short last night on getting enough support to pass his Debt Limit bill in the House of Representatives. A source told them that the “South Carolina” delegation was particularly probelmatic, and that South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint had become their leader:

WASHINGTON POST (Jennifer Rubin): . . . A House aide who was present for much of the wrangling tonight said “we were a number of votes short.” Five? Twenty? “Somewhere in there,” he answered.

He said the opponents were “a mix of freshmen and others.” In particular, South Carolina representatives were “a problem.” He spoke derisively of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), who has been working with the House delegation: “These guys now have a new leader — this guy Jim.”

The aide said that earlier in the evening the leadership was confident: “We had good momentum, and then it petered out.” There was extensive conversation in the majority whip’s office about a possible revision to Boehner’s bill, perhaps involving the balanced budget amendment. But hadn’t they already voted for this? “Yeah, I don’t think this is very well thought out,” he conceded. Maybe, he said, there will be a “soft link,” or a sense of the House on another round of votes on the balanced budget amendment. Maybe the speaker could offer to tie a vote on the amendment to the second round of spending cuts, to be undertaken by the commission specified in the Boehner bill.

As for the Senate, the aide reminded me that the bill now under consideration is essentially the same bill that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had, along with the speaker, taken to the White House last weekend. In other words, if the House can manage to get the bill out, Reid may in fact drop his own bill, bring up the Boehner bill, and be done with this. . . . Read More

GOP Rep. Allen West has reacted strongly to attacks on him by Democrat Rep. (and DNC Chair) Debbie Wasserman Schultz by sending her an email that, among other things, calls her “the most vile, unprofessional ,and despicable member of the US House of Representatives.” He also said bluntly, “You are not a Lady.”

Look, Debbie, I understand that after I departed the House floor you directed your floor speech comments directly towards me. Let me make myself perfectly clear, you want a personal fight, I am happy to oblige. You are the most vile, unprofessional ,and despicable member of the US House of Representatives. If you have something to say to me, stop being a coward and say it to my face, otherwise, shut the heck up. Focus on your own congressional district!

I am bringing your actions today to our Majority Leader and Majority Whip and from this time forward, understand that I shall defend myself forthright against your heinous characterless behavior……which dates back to the disgusting protest you ordered at my campaign hqs, October 2010 in Deerfield Beach.

You have proven repeatedly that you are not a Lady, therefore, shall not be afforded due respect from me!

Steadfast and Loyal

Congressman Allen B West (R-FL)

West was reacting to comments made by Wasserman Schultz on the House Floor (video below) in which she attacked him for supporting the “Cut, Cap, and Balance” measure passed by the House yesterday.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved an bill that would increase the U.S. Debt Limit by $2.4 Trillion, accompanied by spending cuts, a cap on future expenditures and a Balanced Budget Amendment requirement. The bill passed the Republican-controlled House 234-190:

FOX NEWS: The House of Representatives has approved the GOP’s ‘Cut, Cap and Balance’ plan with a vote of 234 to 190.

The bill imposes caps on federal spending as a percentage of GDP. It also allows for an increase in the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion in exchange for both the Senate and House approving a balanced budget amendment.
Nine Republicans voted no on the plan, including Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN). Five Democrats sided with Republicans. . . . Read More

Obama and the Democrats cannot say that Republicans have done nothing to deal with the Debt Limit crisis. It is Obama who has done nothing – literally – to deal with the nation’s massive debt, except add to it.

Here is video of GOP Rep. Paul Ryan making the opening argument on the House Floor in favor of a bill that would repeal ObamaCare. Ryan argued that ObamaCare will decrease the quality and availability of care to Americans, and will be disastrous for the financial future of the country. He called for repeal of ObamaCare, and replacing it with market-based reforms that will preserve what works, and fix what does not in the U.S. Health Care System.

“Let me just simply say why we are here. We are here because we heard the American People in the last election. We are here because we believe it is really important to do in office what you said you would do. We said we would have a straight up or down vote to repeal this Health Care Law, and that’s precisely what we are doing here today.”

Here is video of Iowa GOP Rep. Steve King telling Neil Cavuto that a bill to repeal ObamaCare will pass in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, and has a real chance of passage in the U.S. Senate if it comes up for a vote. He believes public pressure could force Harry Reid to allow a vote on it in the Senate, and with just four Democrats voting with the GOP, it could pass in the Senate. Of course, it would be vetoed by President Obama, but it would sure set up the repeal of ObamaCare as the prime issue of the 2012 Presidential Election.

Here is video of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the House Floor speaking about the Tucson Mass Shooting and supporting a resolution to honor the victims. As she did so, she unwittingly refers to the Mass Shooting in Tucson as a “tragic accident.”

Here is complete video of the U.S. House of Representatives today, January 6, 2011, reading aloud the United States Constitution. House Members who wanted to take part in the reading, from both parties, lined up to read a section from the House Floor. This is the first know occasion that the Constitution has been read aloud during a session of the House:

PART 1 – Preliminaries(After some debate as to whether to read the original version of the U.S. Constitution, the decision was announded to read the U.S. Constitution “as amended.”)

PART 2 – Preamble and Article I

PART 3 – Articles II-VII

PART 4 – The “Bill of Rights” (Amendments I-X)

PART 5 – Amendments XI-XIII

PART 6 – Amendments XIV-XXVII

Thanks to PBSNewsHour for uploading to YouTube this outstanding video of the complete reading of the U.S. Constitution.

Here is a video report on the transfer of power in the U.S. House of Representatives that will take place today at Noon in Washington, D.C. Republicans will assume control of the House, will Rep. John Boehner taking the gavel from Nancy Pelosi to become Speaker of the House.

The report points out that Republicans are already planning to vote to repeal ObamaCare in the House, and at the end of the report mention that they plan to require anyone who submits a bill for consideration to cite where the U.S. Constitution gives Congress authority to do what their bill seeks to accomplish.